President Joe Biden is about to make his biggest statement yet about America’s role in the Middle East — one that will disappoint many of his supporters and affirm that while presidents come and go, Washington’s often self-defeating approach to the region persists.
Ahead of Biden’s first presidential trip to the region this summer, his aides are finalizing a set of documents that one U.S. official who viewed the package summed up as “a recitation of every establishment view.”
Perhaps no one better reflects the national security establishment than the architect of Biden’s approach: Brett McGurk, the White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa.
As one of the few Washington operators who can boast of serving four successive presidents — both Republicans and Democrats — the 49-year-old McGurk is now more powerful than ever. And his personality, views and relationships are guiding American policy in a region where the U.S. has often made deadly,…
